Giant Landover Selling BrightFarms Produce

Ahold USA retail division Giant Landover now carries locally grown produce year-round from BrightFarms Capitol Greenhouse, a 150,000-square-foot greenhouse facility in Culpeper County, Va., at its Giant Food locations in the area. The greenhouse will also soon supply select Ahold USA’s Martin’s Food Markets and Peapod within the same market.

BrightFarms will provide the division’s stores an assortment of salad mixes, including baby arugula, Asian greens, baby spinach, spring mix, spinach blend and baby kale, in addition to basil and a variety of tomatoes. The produce supplied will total nearly 1 million pounds annually, according to Carlisle, Pa.-based Ahold USA.

“Ahold USA and our retail divisions are on a mission to transform our produce departments from good to great – that means more local produce, better prices, and better quality for our customers,” explained David Lessard, the company’s VP, fresh produce. “BrightFarms is a key partner in this ongoing strategy and takes our long heritage of supporting local growers to the next level, offering select ‘in-season’ local produce year-round.”

“The BrightFarms Capitol Greenhouse allows us, in partnership with Ahold USA, to provide consumers with the tastiest, freshest and most sustainable local produce possible, no matter the season,” said Paul Lightfoot, CEO of New York-based BrightFarms, whose state-of-the-art greenhouses are designed to conserve land and water and aid the environment by locating the facilities close to markets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. “It’s a huge win for both Ahold USA retail consumers and the environment.”

Ahold USA already has partnerships with more than 270 local farms.

Part of Amsterdam-based international retail conglomerate Ahold, Ahold USA consists of four regional divisions – Stop & Shop New England, Stop & Shop New York Metro, Giant Landover, and Giant Carlisle – that together operate about 790 supermarkets with 115,000 associates in 14 states and the District of Columbia, along with e-grocer Peapod.